Big data storage systems typically comprise large file repositories with minimal filesystem structure. For example, a big data storage system can comprise a key/value repository wherein a user can store a value associated with a key and retrieve the value using the key. In order to keep track of the data as changes are made, metadata is maintained to track files as they are written, updated, deleted, etc. For very large data stores (e.g., petabytes, exabytes, etc.), the metadata can easily become unwieldy, creating a problem wherein the speed of performing transactions on the big data storage becomes limited by the time required to query and/or update the metadata.